Could My Child be a Victim of Identity Theft? Absolutely!

Jul 11, 2011
Ann Tiller

Children at an increased risk for identity theft. - Salvatore Vuono

Do you know if your child's identity is safe? One report reveals that children are 50 percent more likely than adults to fall victim to identity theft.

If your child had a mortgage, car payment and a few thousand dollars owed in unpaid medical bills, you'd probably notice that, wouldn't you? Unfortunately for thousands of parents, their kids may be deep in debt before they even get out of diapers...thanks to identity theft.

Just about everyone either knows of someone who's had their life turned upside down by identity theft, or who has been a victim of this terrible crime themselves. However, rarely does a parent imagine that their child - even their unborn child - could be affected by this crime.

Report Reveals Identity Theft Victims Younger than Five Years Old

A 2011 report by Richard Power of Carnegie Mellon CyLab revealed that out of 42,232 children ages 18 and under, 10.2 percent had already had their identity stolen.

Power, an expert in the areas of cyber security and cyber crime, based his report on identity protection scans that had been conducted over a period of one year.

Out of those children in the study, the youngest victim was just five months old. The largest fraud, according to the report, happened to a 16-year old girl, who ended up being more than $725,000 in debt.

Perpetrators targeting these young victims tend to be illegal immigrants, members of organized crime, and even friends and family members.

From a criminal's perspective, children make an excellent target because most are given a social security number before they even leave the hospital. These numbers go unused for years and the crime usually goes undetected until the victims go to get a mobile phone, car loan, or their first apartment.

Consequently, children are 50 times more likely than adults to have their identity stolen.

How are Children's Identities Stolen?

Thieves stealing the identity of children use a more sophisticated means of collecting information than the traditional "dumpster-diving" variety.

Online businesses calling themselves tradeline wholesalers and resellers search databases for unused social security numbers, then resell these numbers as credit profile numbers (CPN). One such website, for instance, advertises that "you can buy an SSN validated CPN for only $79.99." The "SSN validated numbers," they said, provides as "much credit ability as any SSN in the credit bureaus FICO network."

To make matters worse, there is currently no way for employers or creditors to match names and birth dates with the number on the social security cards. Victims often discover that there are several people using their social security number at the same time.

Not only can your child's future credit be ruined affecting their ability to obtain credit, get an apartment or even a job, they can end up having a criminal record should the perpetrator be arrested for another crime.

Could Your Child be a Victim of Identity Theft?

If your child is receiving credit card offers, bills, or collection calls, his or her identity may have already been stolen.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), if you suspect that your child's identity has been compromised, begin by requesting a credit report from the three credit reporting agencies - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Requesting a credit report on a child is different than for an adult, so the ITRC offers a template - Letter Form 120 and Fact Sheet 120A - that lets you know what to include in the request.

If all is well, the agencies will tell you that no credit report can be found. In a perfect world, a child shouldn't have a credit report started until they file their first credit application after they turn 18.

Protect Your Child from Becoming a Victim of Identity Theft

All three credit reporting agencies offer fraud alerts that can be placed on the credit reports of adults. However, since children don't have credit reports, how can you know if they're being protected?

If a credit reporting agency receives a request for a credit report from a lender on a child, they send a notice back to the lender notifying them that the request was for a minor. At that point, the lender has the opportunity to stop the transaction and protect the child.

In lieu of a fraud alert, Experian offers familysecure.com, a subscription-based credit monitoring service that alerts you if your child's information has been used to obtain credit.

Other subscription-based ID theft prevention/credit monitoring services such as Lifelock, TrustedID and Equifax can be researched online. Currently, ALLClearID.com will scan your child's information for free to see if it's been stolen.

Finally, teach your child about the importance of not giving their personal information to anyone online. Also, never give out your child's social security number unless you are absolutely sure it is needed.

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